Workspace security at NDSM and Overhoeks covers the studios, units and storage spaces of the former shipyard and the towers along the IJ, where equipment often outvalues the door protecting it.
The NDSM terrain is full of spaces that were never built as offices: converted containers, warehouse units, mezzanines inside a shed. What is inside them tends to be expensive and portable. Cameras, instruments, screens, tools. What is on the door tends to be whatever was there when the space was handed over.
Match the lock to what is behind it
The question is not what kind of door you have. It is what somebody would carry out of it in ten minutes. A studio with sixty thousand euros of equipment behind a hasp and a supermarket padlock is a mismatch, and it is a common one here.
For roller shutters and sliding units, that usually means a hardened closed shackle padlock on a proper anchor. For hinged doors, a certified cylinder plus a long strike plate. For shared warehouse spaces subdivided among several tenants, a master key plan so the landlord holds one key and each tenant holds their own.
Shared buildings, separate responsibilities
Most units here sit inside a larger building with its own entrance, and that entrance is not yours to change. What you control is the door of your own space. Sorting yours out is worth doing regardless of what happens at the main entrance, and it is where we usually start. The relevant work is described on our locksmith services page.
Access for other people is the other recurring question here. Studios are shared, sublet by the day, and used by people who need to get in when nobody else is around. Handing out copies of one key solves it badly, because there is no way to withdraw a copy. A small master key plan, or a certified key safe with a code you change between users, keeps that control with you. It costs less than replacing one camera and it takes an afternoon to arrange.
Salt, wind and steel doors
These are exposed buildings on the water. Steel doors expand and contract more than wood, and a lock that engages perfectly in October can bind in July. Adjusting the strike once a year prevents the far more expensive outcome, which is a motor or a key forced against a bolt that has nowhere to go.
Insurance for a workspace
Business contents cover asks what the premises are secured with, and studios are where that question tends to be answered optimistically. If your policy assumes certified locks and the unit has a padlock from a hardware shop, the gap only appears when you claim. Getting the hardware to match the policy is usually inexpensive, and we state on the invoice exactly what was fitted and to which standard, so the paperwork side is settled at the same time as the door.
Frequently asked questions
More answers are on our locksmith FAQ page.
Can you secure a container or a temporary unit?
Yes, usually with a hardened padlock on a welded or bolted anchor.
I share a building with other tenants. Can we use one system?
Yes, a master key plan gives the landlord one key and each tenant their own.
Do you work outside office hours here?
Yes, 24 hours a day, which suits studios that are busiest in the evening.
My steel door binds in summer. Is the lock broken?
Usually not. The door has expanded and the strike needs adjusting.
Can you invoice my company?
Yes, with a reference if your administration needs one.
Studio door at NDSM or Overhoeks needs sorting?
Call +31 (0)20 210 1986 for urgent help, or arrange a survey through our contact page.
